"Without question we're talking about
the best reliever in the history of baseball. This guy has become
branded with
the Yankee logo. People are going to remember this man for so long for
what
he's done." Brian Cashman

By
Harvey Frommer

Mariano Rivera quite
deservedly is the first to become
a unanimous choice slotted to be inducted into the Cooperstown Baseball
Hall of
Fame.

Talk
about
coming out of nowhere, out of humble beginnings.

Out of Panama City,
Panama, Mariano Rivera was a skinny kid
who used a milk carton for a glove, tree limbs and broom sticks for
bats,
fishing nets that were balled up and wrapped in electrical tape for
balls.

Never in his wildest
imagination did he dream he would play
19 years for the New York Yankees and become the greatest relief
pitcher, the
all-time gold standard for relief pitchers.

He
spoke no English. He was a teenage
shortstop who was a converted pitcher who couldn’t hit much. He didn’t
even
begin pitching until he was 19. Taking a flyer, the Yankees signed him
for
$3,000.

Talk
about
coincidence. Rivera’s first pitching coach with the Gulf Coast League
Yankees,
was Hoyt Wilhelm, the first relief pitcher ever elected to the Hall of
Fame and
first official all-time saves leader.

At Single-A ball in
Greensboro, North Carolina, Rivera
pitched and no one thought he was going anywhere. He was not even
protected by
the Yanks in the '92 expansion draft. Rivera, however, knew what it was
like to
grind, to endure.

After
five plus seasons in the minors, on May 23, 1995, the slim and serious
25-year-old made his Yankee debut as a starter against the California
Angels.
The quiet Panamanian wore jersey Number 42. It what was handed to him
by a
clubhouse attendant. The number had no special significance for the
rookie.
Never did he even have the thought that he would be last to wear that
number in
the majors, Jackie Robinson’s number retired by Major League Baseball.

It
soon became evident that the smooth-throwing right-hander was better
suited to
working out of the bullpen. He proved that point in a setup role in
1996, going
8-3, setting a Yankee reliever record with 130 strikeouts.

John Wetteland left the Yankee and
signed as a free agent with Texas after the 1996 season. Rivera was
given the
closer role. It was one of the of the smartest moves manager Joe Torre
ever
made.

"He's the best I've ever
been around,” Torre
said. “Not only the ability to pitch and perform under pressure, but
the calm
he puts over the clubhouse. He's very important for us because he's a
special
person."

“Mo”
made terrorizing batters and
shattering pitching marks part of his method of operations. Averaging
41 saves
and a 1.86 ERA from 1997 through 1999, he was as dominant as any
stopper had
ever been. He was the 1997 and 1999 Fireman of the Year

In
1999, the Yankee scoreboard
staff tried out different songs to use to introduce Rivera coming in
from the
bullpen at home games. Finally, Metallica’s

“Enter
Sandman” was settled on. The
image of Rivera jogging across the grass of the outfield in a straight
line to
the pitcher’s mound, the blaring of the opening cords of the song, is a
Yankee
ritual that will never be forgotten. It is now part of the legend and
lore of
the franchise. “Mo” becoming “Sandman.”

Mariano Rivera was
arguably the nuts and bolts of Yankee
success in the World Series from 1996-2000 and also 2009 – the seven
pennants,
the 11 AL East wins.

In
2001, Mariano Rivera became the
best paid relief pitcher ever. He signed a $39.99 million, four-year
contract.
And George Steinbrenner donated $100,000 to Rivera's church in Panama
as well.

"I think
the good Lord is a Yankee,” Rivera said.

What hitters said about
the modest Rivera was
something else. Facing him, they knew what was coming – the cut
fastball that
moved as much as eight or nine inches ad shattered bats, the
devastating pitch
that made him more times than not, unhittable.

"He's
the most mentally tough
person I've ever played with," said Derek Jeter.

"He's
as automatic as anybody ever has been,” said Mike Stanton

The
stats for one-time kid from
Panama who played with a cardboard glove are mind-boggling: He never
allowed a
run to be scored against him in nine All-Star game appearances. He was
the first
pitcher ever to make 1,000 appearances for one team. His 652 saves
record with
one team is a stat that probably will never be broken. He saved 23
postseason
games in a row, and in 19 of those games he pitched more than one
inning.A member of four World
Championship teams,
Rivera was on the mound as the Yankees closed out titles in 2000, 1999
and
1998. He is just the third reliever to be named World Series MVP
(1999).

A
religious and charitable quiet man,
a competitor like no one else, Mariano Rivera had a plaque in August
2016
honoring him put up in the Stadium’s Monument Park. Deservedly,
admission to
the Baseball Hall of Fame is part of the future for the closer of all
closers.

About

Harvey

Frommer

One
of the most prolific and respected sports journalists
and oral historians in the United States, author of the autobiographies
of
legends Nolan Ryan, Tony Dorsett, and Red Holzman, Dr. Harvey Frommer
is an
expert on all things baseball having written many books on the team
including
the classic REMEMBERING FENWAY PARK.

A
professor now for more than two decades in the MALS
program at Dartmouth College, Frommer was dubbed “Dartmouth’s Mr.
Baseball” by
their alumni magazine. He’s also the founder of www.HarveyFrommerSports.com.